Troubled Isaan school is willing to learn new ways

[rooster59]

Troubled Isaan school is willing to learn new ways

By KETKAN BOONPEN
THE SUNDAY NATION

 

 

DIRECTOR EMBRACES SCHEME TO BRING FAILING SCHOOLS UP TO STANDARD

 

SHORTLY AFTER assuming office as education minister in December’s Cabinet reshuffle, Teerakiat Jareonsettasin introduced his first policy of helping schools in rural areas suffering quality problems get out of “intensive care”.

 

This ICU schools project will be carried out in parallel with the “magnetic schools” project, which encourages parents to send their children to good-quality – albeit not-so-large – schools near their homes and covers more than 15,000 small schools throughout the country.

 

The ultimate goal of the ICU schools project is to tackle the problem of educational inequality, according Teerakiat, who is a medical doctor and former deputy dean of Khon Kaen University’s Faculty of Medicine. He had served as deputy education minister before his current appointment.

 

Many school administrators may be reluctant to bring their schools into this project, as its might suggest theirs are in a severe condition. But Prasert Patchotchai, director of Tao Ngoi Pattana Suksa School in the northeastern Sakon Nakhon province, is not one of them.

 

Prasert admitted that he was initially hesitant and worried. However, after studying the project in detail, he found that it would benefit his school and help it solve its urgent problems, with the help of relevant agencies. So he decided his school should join the project.

 

“I am not afraid that the school’s image will be bad [after joining the project]. As a school administrator, I saw problems that are ‘illnesses’ of the school. When you are ill, you need to be treated. We have to be open-minded and dare to fix the problems to make things better,” Prasert said.

 

His school is one of more than 6,000 selected by the Office of Basic Education Commission to take part in the ICU project. It is the only secondary school in Tao Ngoi district, where most residents are in the farming sector. Tao Ngoi is 18 kilometres from Sakon Nakhon town (Muang district).

 

The latest annual evaluation found that the school needed to improve its quality urgently, particularly involving its students. Prasert said many students were found to lack eagerness in studying and analytical skills. Also, many of the children were found to come from troubled families, which in turn adversely affected their academic achievements.

 

Most graduates opted to enter the labour market or work in farming rather than go to university. However, due to a lack of vocational skills and proper guidance, several of them failed to find well-paid jobs, according Prasert.

 

The school’s Grade 12 students also fared poorly in the Ordinary National Educational Test (O-Net). Its average score for Thai Language in the 2015 academic year was 41.38 per cent, compared to the national average of 49.36. In mathematics, the school’s average was only 20.42 per cent, compared to the national average of 36.59. In science, the school’s average was 28.95 per cent, while the national average was 33.40.

 

In order to treat this “ICU school”, the plan calls for improvement of its students’ quality in many ways, starting from the upcoming 2017 academic year, said Prasert. 

 

The “active learning” method will be adopted to encourage more student participation and “learning by doing”. 

 

The school also will offer vocational courses for its higher-secondary school students (Grades 10-12), while a group of local business people have offered to give lectures – and their career success could hopefully inspire the students about their future plans, Prasert said. 

 

The school also plans to have language labs for English and Mandarin to help improve the students’ foreign-language skills, he added.

 

In addition, there is a plan to boost the teachers’ morale by funding their participation in different teaching courses provided by the Education Ministry, at Bt10,000 per year for every teacher. 

 

The school also will use more IT in its teaching and learning processes. Its library will be modernised and equipped with high-speed Internet and electronic tools such as smartphones.

 

“What the school expects from this project is for our students to get more knowledge and vocational skills while gaining inspiration for their future careers. After graduating, the students should be able to add more value to their families’ current career in the farming sector,” Prasert added.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30309535

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-03-19

[yellowboat]

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The school also plans to have language labs for English and Mandarin to help improve the students’ foreign-language skills, he added.

Where will they get these teachers ?  The idea is good, but how will it be executed ? 

[Get Real]

Simple! The elite do home schooling with professionals. The other part of the population is  created to stay stupid.

Never understood why so much text have to be written about something so simple.

[Pepper1959]

Not long ago I visited a school so close to Nakhon Phanom on Students' Day to give some gifts. It was staggering that the students were being taught by police, not one teacher. What a shame for the students and what a shame for the Dept that teachers would not travel the short distance. As a retired Principal, I could see nothing wrong with the school or the location. In Perth, Australia, I had  return travel of 100 kms a day, albeit great roads, but the sois to this school were all sealed except for maybe a couple of kms. These students are so disadvantaged and have little chance of success if those in charge do not find qualified staff to teach this generation. I am sure this is repeated right across rural Thailand and programmes as mentioned in this article are required, but implementation is another issue. The children need the energy and pragmatism of an educational leader to make it work.

[Billy Bloggs]

Yes I hope to do some assistance work once I more up country later in the year, Im no teacher but a qualified instructor, if no one wants my help at schools I have at least 2 little members of the extended family who will get my help plus any in the village as well.

I see it as a great shame that they dont see the great resource they have available, but wont use for whatever reason, Im sure there are many out there who would love to contribute, not just to help but to fill in some time for themselves.

[muzmurray]

8 hours ago, Get Real said:

Simple! The elite do home schooling with professionals. The other part of the population is  created to stay stupid.

Never understood why so much text have to be written about something so simple.

 

Any facts to back this up ? I can think of quite a few "elite" here that were not home schooled.

[Get Real]

46 minutes ago, muzmurray said:

 

Any facts to back this up ? I can think of quite a few "elite" here that were not home schooled.

Wow! You must be one of a kind!
It was like a broad explianation, but if you don´t understand the point, I rest my case. You win, dude!

I hope your great experiance take you on great trips troughout Thailand.

[Scott]

This is the teaching forum and this is a reminder that the nonsensical arguing and trolling seen elsewhere on the forum is not tolerate.  

 

Continue and you will be suspended.